From playing PlayStation with his son, to creating history: Behind Pendlebury’s record-breaking day

Scott Pendlebury’s extraordinary, historic achievement in breaking the VFL/AFL games record was, by its very nature, an individual accolade.

Playing his 433rd game, the Collingwood champion snapped a tie with North Melbourne great Brent Harvey and climbed atop an all-time leaderboard that includes such longevity luminaries as Michael Tuck, Shaun Burgoyne, Kevin Bartlett and Dustin Fletcher.

Everything was deservedly about Pendlebury, from the “SP433” tagline to the Magpies’ renamed one-game memberships – “Pendleships” – and the standing ovation of 90,028 fans at the 10-minute mark of the first quarter.

Puma even paid to change the AFL Record to the Scott Pendlebury for this special week.

The 38-year-old black-and-white marvel played his first AFL match on June 3, 2006, so he has witnessed enormous change in the world and the way his sport operates and is covered.

For context’s sake, the first-ever tweet was sent three months before Pendlebury’s debut game. Later that year, Facebook was opened to the public.

Countless AFL rules have changed since; Gold Coast and GWS have joined the league; and Pendlebury has played in two premierships, received the 2010 Norm Smith Medal in the grand final replay, captained the Magpies in 206 games, won five Copeland Trophies and made the All-Australian team six times.

There has also never been more people talking about the Australian game – and increasingly trying to be the loudest and most controversial voice.

Pendlebury’s occasion, particularly the weeks leading in, has been a fascinating snapshot of the climate he and fellow athletes now compete in.

He and the club copped criticism for him resting in two of the previous three games to ensure his record-breaking match would be a Collingwood home game at the MCG.

A money-grabbing narrative was also peddled, which suffered a blow when Pendlebury revealed on the Ausmerican Aces podcast on Thursday that just one – not 12 – of his match-worn jumpers would be auctioned.

Instead, the champion Pie’s family and Collingwood would receive most of them. His kids, Jax and Darcy, designed the boots he played his milestone game in.

It was also a Magpies initiative, not his own, for the lion’s share of memorabilia proceeds to go to Pendlebury instead of Collingwood pocketing about one-third of them.

He will also donate a decent portion to the My Room children’s cancer charity.

Ex-Saint Nick Riewoldt directed blame at the AFL while providing hyperbolic commentary on how clubs could turn milestone matches into an opportunity to manipulate the salary cap. It was classic 2026 football media melodrama.

Then came the spine-tingling moment that Pendlebury ran onto the MCG on Saturday afternoon. We knew last month that the AFL gave him special approval for the No.10 on his back to be in gold.

Even that caused a stir. The club’s previous games record-holder, 1990 premiership captain Tony Shaw, was “uncomfortable” with it, feeling the gold number made it too much about him and detracted from the team.

But there was one more twist.

Not only was Pendlebury’s No.10 in gold, but each of his fellow Magpies’ numbers were, too, much like how Harvey’s North Melbourne teammates wore the same jumper with “427” across it when he overtook Tuck a decade ago. Pendlebury’s teammates found out not long before the first bounce.

Collingwood coach Craig McRae summed it up wonderfully: “If we’re just considering that someone’s bigger than the team for that one day, can’t we celebrate one person?”

If ever a player milestone warranted the limelight, this Pendlebury one is as worthy as any.

“Since Fly [McRae]’s been here; we’ve been really big on actually embracing the occasion,” Pendlebury said on Fox Footy pre-game.

“This is a bit different because it’s an individual award, or I don’t even know what you call it – a games thing – but I’ve tried to lap it up and enjoy it.

“It’s pretty funny. I was doing some shopping in Elwood yesterday [Friday], and they clapped me when I walked out, and I was holding a pumpkin. I’m getting clapped for buying a pumpkin. I’ve enjoyed it, and now is the easy part, where you get to go out and play.”

Setting this record required so much to go right.

Pendlebury was consistently excellent in his prime, and able to evade opponents in a way that drew comparisons to Neo in the Matrix movies. He has reimagined himself in more-recent seasons to be more versatile while accepting he will play fewer minutes and sit out occasionally.

Pendlebury is the LeBron James of the AFL, at least in as far as how much time and money he puts into his physical recovery.

The Magpie still makes regular visits to ex-Hawk Scott Maginness, father of Finn, for chiropractor sessions as part of his routine.

Pendlebury’s parents, Bruce and Lisa, stayed over on Friday night, and he spent game morning playing PlayStation with his son. To him, it was a “pretty cruisy” day.

Any chance West Coast would take it easy on him was dispelled within seconds of the match starting, when Eagles young gun Harley Reid temporarily grounded him with one of his powerful fend-offs in the centre of the MCG.

Kids these days have no respect.

A sweeping handball in the opening minutes opened Pendlebury’s disposal tally, but this was not a match where he kept Champion Data’s statisticians overly busy. It’s not that he is not still capable: he collected 43 touches and kicked two goals in collecting his fourth Anzac Day Medal only weeks ago.

West Coast, and specifically Dom Sheed, broke Collingwood hearts with his last-gasp goal in the 2018 grand final and the new-age Eagles provided genuine nuisance value until the dying minutes on Pendlebury’s day.

They were within three points until a Dan McStay goal proved the impetus for some match-saving Magpie resistance. Darcy Moore and more seriously, Jamie Elliott suffered injuries getting there, which soured the occasion somewhat.

Pendlebury, too, was off and on the ground with his own ailment (a hand injury) in the second half, but he knows by now that football rarely provides perfection.

Circus or not, the Magpie army ensured Pendlebury’s moment was a major celebration.

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